


A Failed Seduction

by myravenspirit



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale, 半妖の夜叉姫 | Hanyou no Yashahime | Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon (Anime)
Genre: Abusive Parents, Affairs, Baby Sesshomaru just wants to be fed, Delusions, F/M, Gen, Inukimi is a strong lady who doesn't take crap, Touga doesn't sleep with Zero, Zero wants Touga all for herself but she is delusional
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-12 00:53:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29751603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myravenspirit/pseuds/myravenspirit
Summary: Zero has been sent from her father's court to ease tension between the kingdoms, she it to learn from the young Lady of the Western court. She encounters a young, handsome youkai in the gardens and is filled with longing and desire.
Relationships: Inu no Taishou/Sesshoumaru's Mother, Kirinmaru & Zero, Zero & Inu no Taishou, Zero & Sesshomaru's Mother & Inu no Taishou
Kudos: 17





	A Failed Seduction

**Author's Note:**

  * For [unlockthelore](https://archiveofourown.org/users/unlockthelore/gifts).



> I am a firm believer that Touga loved his two wives dearly in his own way that was specific for each of them Love takes many forms, but I do not think he would be a complete dog and have a third. (Yes, yes, it's historically accurate, I have a degree in ancient history.)

She sighed softly as she sat in the garden on the bench. The sun’s warmth was nice, especially with how high the palace in the sky was, but she missed the salt water spray of the sea.

Zero leaned forward, resting her elbows on her thighs. Her step-mother wasn’t around to chide her at least, nor was her father around to lecture her on behaving like a lady.  _ It doesn’t even matter, I am illegitimate _ , she thought glumly. 

Her step-mother was concerned with an illegitimate daughter trying to kill her beloved son, to be the only heir left.

Zero remembered Kirinmaru’s woeful tears as he clung to her, arms wound tightly around her neck, begging her to stay with him. Their father pried him away and rebuked him heavily. When Kirinmaru continued to cry, Zero saw the whip come out and Kirinmaru struggled more. 

_ “You are too soft Kirinmaru! She is your half-sister! She doesn’t belong here with you anymore, you are grown now,” _ their father roared out as he lashed Kirinmaru’s back, tearing his kosode apart. 

Zero had been restrained for the whole thing. She had raised Kirinmaru, she loved him dearly. But she was useless in her father’s opinion and had to be married off. None of the nobility of youkai wanted her though. 

She sighed heavily again, loud in the quiet garden. She closed her eyes, long grey hair pulled up and tied neatly, properly, perfectly. 

“Every time you sigh, you lose some of your happiness,” a masculine voice spoke up. 

Zero gasped and sat straight, looking right and left, seeing no one. She finally dared to look over her shoulder and saw a handsome youkai dressed in armour. She felt her cheeks dust in colour as they warmed. 

His long white hair was pulled high into a ponytail, a single deep purple stripe decorated each cheek. Those amber eyes telling her immediately he was of the inu clan. His smile was easy going, fangs just peeking out. 

_ I wonder if he is Lady Inukimi’s brother,  _ she mused to herself. 

“Have you seen my wife?” He asked her as he looked around the garden. “She told me to meet her in the garden...but I’ve checked all the other seven,” he grumbled and she noticed the small parcel in his left hand.

“Um...who is your wife?” Zero asked with a smile, internally she was quite disappointed that he was a handsome young youkai that was married.

Her father had told her to find a husband too, or at least sleep with whoever was the highest rank and hope they made her their wife if she conceived. 

Amber eyes turned and held her captive. “You are my wife’s new attendant, are you not? She had described you...pale skinned, refusing to sit straight...maybe you aren’t her…” he murmured to himself, turning and looking around. “I can’t even scent that blasted woman! A-ha! She’s by the damn water feature!” He said aloud and started walking off. “You should come along too, your Lady is probably annoyed that you aren’t with her,” he called over his shoulder. 

Zero stood up quickly and followed him, running to catch up with him before falling in step behind him. “Sorry, this garden is confusing. I got lost and gave up on trying to find Lady Inukimi,” Zero explained quietly. 

“This garden is the one my wife uses to hide from those she finds annoying...oh, sorry that must be you today,” the man laughed gently. 

He walked to the end of the path, raising his chin sniffing the air. Zero watched him with curiosity as he looked forward, left than right at the crossroads of the garden. It was forbidden to leap over the large bushes. The maze was to be respected. 

“Dewy grass is this way,” the man hummed out lowly as he took the left path. 

She followed him dutifully.  _ I wonder how long he and Lady Inukimi have been married,  _ Zero wondered. 

They took a right and walked straight for some time before taking one more left. The narrow passages of the maze gave way to a circular area of grass. A tall feature of stone carved into a Rajiin stood before her. 

She saw her Lady sitting on a stone bench, shed of a couple layers of her kimonos. Long, shiny white hair neatly tied in two ponytails, soft strands framing her face and bangs perfectly trimmed to sit along her brow. 

“I found you!” The man sighed out with relief. 

“You are late...and you brought  _ her _ ,” Zero listened to the cool response of her Lady. “Girl...do you even know who led you here?” Inukimi asked as she stood up from her bench and walked over with a small smirk on her lips. 

“Your husband,” Zero answered quietly.  _ I never asked his name...only admired his features. _

Amber eyes glittered for a moment. “This  _ is _ my husband. However, he is not nameless or without a title and his own merits. Isn’t that right, dear husband?” Inukimi asked the tall man. 

“Kimi don’t embarrass the girl. She’s obviously terrified of you and the court. Where did she even come from?” The man asked. 

“She is here from the East. She is to learn to be a lady by my example...but to also keep the peace between us and those Beasts of the East. Apparently, rumours are she is also supposed to find herself a lover and ensure she marries them,” the Lady explained.

Zero felt her cheeks warm again, her Lady, as she quickly deduced, was quite knowledgeable despite appearing to be aloof to most matters.  _ She is sharper than I anticipated, she is unlike that bitch back home _ , Zero warily thought. 

The man turned to her, he dipped his chin. “I heard your clan sails the seas on large ships,” he said, easing the tension. 

“Uh...yes, we do,” Zero responded quietly. “I am Zero, milord.”

“Don’t mind Kimi too much, she is kinder than she appears,” the man said with a smile. 

“What Touga is saying: is if you behave I won’t kill you,” Inukimi said coolly, flicking her eyes from her to Touga. “You will also address him as your Lord for his station is higher than your own. As you can see from his armour, he is the General of the West,” Inukimi explained as she walked around Touga and Zero. She stopped behind Zero and pulled her shoulders. “If you do not stand straighter than no man will make you their wife, Zero. Now, run along, I have private matters to discuss with Touga.”

“Yes, milady,” Zero bowed her head and turned to walk back the direction she came from. 

  
  
  
  
  


She had quickly found out that her Lady had informed her Lord about their child. She has also suffered as she heard the couple’s amorous activities in their chamber. She would stand outside listening to the loud moans of her Lady and the harsh grunts of her Lord, in many ways wishing she was the one receiving her Lord’s affections. 

She would dutifully stand there as required with fresh clothes for her lady, to help her bathe. There were times when she would be in the water with Inukimi when Touga would casually walk in, just as naked, and he would wash himself without care that the two of them were there. 

Zero would try and avoid looking at his body, her cheeks warm after accidentally catching a glance of his softened member. His body toned with corded muscle lying beneath his tanned flesh.

If he sank into the large bath with them, Inukimi would lecture him, their backs to him as Zero washed Inukimi’s back. 

_ “Touga there is another woman present. Do you have no shame?” _ Zero would listen when Inukimi questioned her husband. 

_ “Zero doesn’t mind, she’s turned away. I need a soak too, you wear me out Inukimi,” _ Touga would groan out, resting against the edge of the tub. 

He had even once asked her for a massage when he had returned from a small campaign. She had nervously hiked up her skirts, sitting on his backside. Inukimi was reading some palace documents on the porch, her back to them. 

Zero rubbed the muscles, trying not to get aroused as her hands kneaded his skin, low noises leaving Touga’s lips as she worked out all of his aches. When she finished she quickly got off him and he thanked her with a lazy smile before burying his face into his pillow and sleeping. 

Zero knew it was wrong to become infatuated with him, but she couldn’t help herself. She had been kept distant from most men in the palace. She attended Inukimi almost all her time. She had no answer for her father’s letters when he wrote and asked if she had found a man yet. 

Kirinmaru’s letters were more somber. He questioned her on her health, how was she faring. How he wished they could just be free of his parents. He even promised that once he was the King he would bring her home, they could be as they were before. He would have his big sister back home. 

She longed for those moments too, when they used to run along the beach together. They would collect seashells together, listening to the ocean. It had been childish, but she did whatever he wanted. She had only wanted his happiness. 

Remembering his smile kept her going each day so far from home. 

  
  
  


Then on a cool fall night, the crescent moon high in the sky, the cries of the young successor were heard. 

_ Sesshomaru. _

Zero had thought it was a peculiar name for the young baby boy. She watched as Inukimi cared for him. 

Even Touga was keenly interested in his son when he was around. He would carry the small baby, telling of his adventures. She would hear those stories and long to be on her ship again, sailing with Kirinmaru. 

Sometimes she had fantasies of Touga taking her on an adventure. Just the two of them and they would have to seek refuge during a storm in a cave. She imagined him pulling off his clothing to dry them out, she would shyly do so to. She imagined a small fire keeping them warm, drying his two tailed pelt. 

Her fantasies would develop more and she could picture him pushing her gently down against his pelt. His hands gripping her thighs and pulling them apart gently with gentle promises of making her his official mistress. A man of his station could have as many women as he wanted. 

He would whisper in her ear his deepest confession,  _ “I’ve longed for you since we first met in that garden. I’ve wanted you every time I took Kimi...I always imagined it was you.” _

He would take her, as he wanted, using her body for his pleasure. She would hold onto him as he moved at his own pace. Her body was for him to use. She would keep him close, listening to his low groans turn into harsh grunts as he chased his release. 

He would let her rest and have her again and again through the night until he was completely satisfied. 

  
  
  
  


When Sesshomaru was just several months old, is when Zero believed she gained the opportunity of a lifetime. 

Sesshomaru wailed in her arms as the loud voices of his parents could be heard behind the doors of their shared chamber. 

“He will come with me down to the land when he can walk!” Touga’s voice boomed out. 

“He will not! He is our only child, our heir! He will live in the palace!” Inukimi screamed at Touga. 

There was a crashing sound that had Sesshomaru shake his fists, cheeks red from crying. 

“Did you throw a fucking vase at me?” Touga shouted. 

“I did! You turned your back on me! I am the Lady of this palace, you are my consort! Know your place! I bore our son, he is my heir, I know what is best!” Inukimi argued. 

“You would shelter him, coddle him? He is my heir too! He will roam the lands once I am gone from this world. He needs to learn it while young!” Touga tried to reason. 

“Not when there are humans capable of killing young youkai!” 

“If you will not see reason, then I will leave!” Touga warned her. 

“Leave then, you will not take our son though,” Inukimi hissed out. 

“I will take him when the time is right!” Touga roared out. 

Zero gasped as the doors flew open, Touga yanking the large wooden doors open. His brows knitted together as he took a glance at Sesshomaru in her arms. “Bring Sesshomaru to his mother, he needs feeding!” He ordered her. 

“Yes, milord,” Zero said with a bow of her head. She walked into the room, glancing at the broken pottery. 

Her lady sat in her yukata, long hair down for the night. She looked quite small on the large futon. Her amber eyes turned to Zero and then to Sesshomaru. “Give my son to me,” she ordered quietly. 

Zero handed over Sesshomaru, who had quieted down as Inukimi pulled her yukata open, revealing a breast to feed him. He nursed greedily and calmed in his mother’s arms. 

“Milady…” Zero stated as she turned and walked to where the shards of broken pottery laid on the floor. “You broke one of My Lord’s gifts.”

“Did I?” She asked sardonically. “Marriage is complicated, especially when each partner comes from a different background. My clan and his clan thought this would be a joyous union. He was raised on the land, I in the heavens. The truth is that we were the only ones born of our generation, our clan is dying out. Sesshomaru has provided hope to the inu clans,” Inukimi explained with a heavy sigh. “Touga and I respect each other, enjoy the other's company. Sesshomaru has caused us stress and has revealed our incompatibility issues.”

Zero picked up shards and took in the information.  _ Are they separating? _ She wondered. A strange sense of glee made her heart flutter. 

“Zero,” Inukimi called her. 

Zero stood up and settled the broken shards onto the small table before the bed. “Yes, milady?” 

Amber eyes shone brightly, almost glowing in the darkened room, moonlight illuminating the nursing mother. “Don’t even think about it,” she hissed coolly. 

Zero frowned as she responded, “Milady, I am not sure what you are talking about…” she started. 

A small laugh bubbled from the woman’s lips. “We inu youkai have far superior noses than your kind. We have always ignored your scent of arousal to spare you, but you have been aroused by Touga since you met him,” Inukimi responded with a cool smirk. “I assure you he is not interested in someone like you.”

Zero felt tears prick her eyes. 

“Are you going to cry? Men aren’t worth any tears Zero.We women carry children, we raise them, we love them and care for them. What good are men for? Sex? Their seed? No man is worth crying over. If you love him, cry only when he’s dead and he can no longer fuck you and provide children...or so my mother once told me,” Inukimi sighed out. She glanced down at Sesshomaru, stroking his soft cheek. “You will be different Sesshomaru. My darling boy,” she cooed to the baby. 

Inukimi raised a hand and waved it, dismissing Zero. 

Zero quickly walked out of the room and wiped her tears with the edge of her sleeves. She hated Inukimi.

_ She doesn’t love him! She used him for a child. I love him, I would cherish him always! She’s a liar! _ She convinced herself as she followed her senses of his aura. She ran down the hall and turned right before descending a short flight of stairs. She arrived at the chamber Touga had built to train Sesshomaru. 

She slid the door open quickly before closing it.

“If Kimi wants to talk more about how we should raise Sesshomaru, tell her to fuck off Zero. I’m not in the mood to fight her anymore,” Touga sighed out heavily as sat on the floor, arms and legs crossed. His back to her. 

“I didn’t come here because of my Lady...I came here for you Milord. She treats you so poorly. She even told me some terrible things. Men aren’t worth crying over. Only cry that they can no longer fuck you and provide children. She doesn’t see love with you...you should leave her Milord and be happy!” Zero explained as she walked toward him. She sat down on her knees behind. She leaned against him, inhaling his scent, feeling those muscles beneath the layers of fabrics. “Milord,” she called softly. 

“Zero, you should leave,” Touga told her coolly. 

Zero pulled back and stood up. She bit her lip and reached behind her, she slowly pulled on the bow of her obi, letting it whisper as it fell. She knew Touga would hear it, she wanted him to hear it. She shouldered off her top layer of her kimono, letting the fabrics part and reveal her ankles and her breasts. She held it close as she walked around him and stood before him. 

Amber eyes stared up at her, bored and unimpressed. 

“Milord, I have longed to tell you of my affections...how I wish we could flee this place and be together,” she purred out softly, letting her arms down to reveal herself in her juban and the bindings around her breasts. “Milord, you may use my body as you see fit for your pleasure,” she told him.

Touga stood up and stared down at her. “No, I love my wife. You are obviously young and naive. I must’ve been too forward with my kindness as your lord. Kimi does not treat me badly. I am happy that she has that mentality. I hope she does grieve, but only when I am dead, and only long enough that it gives her closure. She has to care for Sesshomaru after all. He is our priority and our heir,” Touga explained. He then bowed down and grabbed Zero’s clothing. “You really should leave, I am sorry if you have been misled, it was never my intention,” he apologized gently to her.

Zero stood there and blinked, tears welling in her eyes. “But I love you!” She shouted at him. 

“Then your love is unrequited,” Touga sighed out heavily. 

Zero felt a wound to her heart and pride as Touga turned around and left the small chamber, leaving her half naked and contemplating where she went wrong in her seduction.

  
  
  
  


“You are dismissed,” Inukimi announced before her court. Her divan sitting higher up on a platform so she could view everyone in her court.

“Milady,” Zero said with her head bowed and staring at the perfectly polished wooden floors.

“For being a harlot and trying to seduce my husband who refused your advances. You even slandered me, your lady, to him,” Inukimi added as she sat on her divan, amber eyes piercing her. Touga stood beside the divan in his armour. 

“Your brother has succeeded your father, your step-mother has left for the mainland. Kirinmaru requests for you to return to him,” Touga explained. 

“Yes, milord,” Zero responded quietly. “I will leave at once.”

As she descended from the palace in the sky, accompanied by several of Touga’s trusted soldiers, she felt a sense of relief to return to the seas. 

A small part of her hoped she would meet Touga again. Perhaps he would travel on the land again, tired of the palace life. She hoped that she would have a chance in gaining his heart then. She would, for now, enjoy her time with her brother. She had dreamt of the roiling waters of the sea and at other times, the stillness of the water without the wind. She missed home, she missed her brother. 

In many ways, she was glad to return to him. She would help him strengthen his empire until her path crossed with Touga’s again. Surely, they were destined to be together.

  
  


Little did she know that their next union would only cause her further heartache and a bruised ego. 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed it! I may add a second chapter. Haven't decided yet. 
> 
> You can follow me on Twitter and Tumblr @myravenspirit. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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